Denster

Vinegaroon really comes into it's own after three or four months and longer. By then it has turned a deep blood red and a lot of the smell has gone away. Vinegar is cheap buy a couple gallons and tear up five pads of 0000 steel wool in each put the lid on loosely and put it in a dark place and forget it for awhile. I don't believe heating it is a good idea unless you want to stink up the house.

Mlapaglia is correct. Neatsfoot oil will not soften the holster and a quick dip is all that is needed. As to moisture content of the leather adding a few drops of dish washing liquid does break the surface tension and allow the moisture to penetrate better. You should wait to do your molding until the leather has returned to it's natural color.

When it is dry it will no longer feel cool to the touch. Overnight will be more than enough. I believe warming them to 130deg F for at least 30n min or longer will materially add to the firmness of the holster. A quick dip in neatsfoot oil will turn the Vinegaroon jet black and will not harm the holster. Darn good job for your first one.

The molding looks pretty good for a first attempt. The general design of the holster could use some work. Those wide rounded ears reminded me of our current president. Keep working at it like I said for a first attempt that is better than most.

I use almost an identicall one by Skill for sectioning a side. Works great up to about 14Oz.

High Noon holsters uses a plastic sewen in sight channel. Looks like a piece of weatherstripping. Milt Sparks uses the ones Mike described made of leather strips.

A mallet handle makes a poor forming stick , wrong shape, but better than nothing I guess.

Might want to try using a forming stick to open and stretch the holster before inserting the gun. Makes life so much easier.

Stropping utility blades is not really frugality but necessity. They are sharp from the package but not sharp enough and need stropped. Interesting on the frugality point though. I'm using the same blade and have cut through both sides of the HO from hell only a couple of sqft left as long as you strop between patterns they last a long time. Thanks for the tip on the fillet gloves.

We all use what we are comfortable with. I bought one of those heavy duty shears from Lowes after you wrote about them a couple of years ago. They will cut any leather including HO from hell up to 12OZ beyond that they've met their match. I used them for awhile until my doc prescribed meds that relieved the arthritis in my wrist and I could use a round knife again. They were materially slower, at least for me, and I couldn't get good inside curves and had to do some trimming but it kept me working. I still use them for cutting out butt cuffs and pocket quivers and mag pouches just not anything with inside curves. You're right that a round knife can be scary you always have to practice safety first because if you loose your focus you can loose body parts real quick. The hook blade not so bad as your hands are always out of the direction of the cut. Sounds like you're getting your assistant pretty well trained. Also glad to hear that business is still booming just never let it intrude on happy hour:)

Yes absolutely I always case before I edge. Goes into my work flow pretty good. I case the leather after stitching and tap the stitches then punch the belt slots then edge. The casing helps close up the stitches, prevents grain tear when I punch the slots and makes edging a lot easier.

I am a big fan of Hermann Oak leather for holsters and use it almost exclusively. Every once in awhile, say maybe one out of ten or twenty sides I get one that is just a bear to cut even if I case it. This is on the order of dulling all three of my round knives on a single pattern and having to strop them all before going to the next pattern. Before anyone suggests it I know how to sharpen and strop a round knife and have three top quality ones. I guess I haven't been living right because on my last order I got a two sides, one 8/9 and one 6/7, of Hermann Oak from Hell and had to find a better way to do this. It really kills your bottom line when the time to cut out a pattern goes from 30 to 45 seconds to 8 to 10 minutes. Particle had mentioned this situation with Hermann Oak and someone had mentioned using a hook blade on a utility knife. Generally I don't like using utility knives for cutting leather but in this case any port in a storm. Well I'll be damned it works and works well and only takes about a little over a minute to cut a pattern. I thought this would be worthwhile to post, might be particularly helpful to new leather workers as it is a viable alternative to using a round knife in any leather. That said nothing beats a round knife for most work with most leather and is a skill that should be learned. What I do is section the leather so I have two patterns on one piece. This gives you something to hang on to as you pull the utility knife. I cut an entrance slit on the bottom of the pattern along a flat line to insert the hook blade from the flesh side with the pattern drawn on the grain side and just pull it around the pattern. It is almost ridiculously easy to maintain 90deg when pulling the blade and going around even tight curves is easy. One caveat. You do need to strop the blade before use and between patterns but this only takes a moment. My strop has a radius on one edge but you could easily make on with leather glued to a 5/8 dowel. There is an upside to getting the Hermann Oak from Hell. While it also death on edgers it forms just as easily as Hermann Oak is known for and makes a really firm holster.

Right on the money. Most folks set their bobbin tension way to tight and it is the source of many of the reported problems. A light, about 1lb drag on the bobbin. Set the top tension to factory reccomendations and do any tweaking with the primary tensioner.

Those who say things like that likely have never made a leather holster or are refering to those holsters that are not detail boned but only blocked to a gun. In the latter case it is possible to fit a different gun and have it look OK not great but OK. With a holster that is detail boned and finished fitting a different gun you may end up with an acceptable fit that just looks nasty. Best bet is to identify what gun it is made for then sell it and invest in a holster made specifically for your gun.

Re-Molding a holster and having it look right would be very problematic for an experienced holster maker. For a newby it is virtually guaranteed you will ruin it. Sorry that is just the way it is. If you post a pic we might be able to tell you what gun it is for.

Particles video is a good description also do a search for molding or wet forming here and you will get more than you ever cared to know.

The holster is wet formed around the gun or a dummy of the gun it is intended to fit.

In the heavier weights ie: 8/9 and 9/10 they are great for butt stock shell holders.

Not at all if you are using it as a lining. Just use a sponge to wet the outer veg tan shell and let it case and form away.

Yes it is chrome tanned. This only causes a possible problem if the leather gets wet and leaches chromium salts. This leather is so heavily plated that it is impevious to moisture. Water just beads up on the surface.

It's not listed on their site you will have to call them and ask for the military boot scuff Kevin has on sale.

Not sure where he wants the boot leather. For the back of the holster boot leather would be way to thin unless you were bonding it to heavier veg-tan. Kevin at Springfield Leather bougt what he calls a gazillion feet of military boot scuff. That'as what goes on the heels and toes of military boots. Neat stuff as it is an even four oz heavily plated and tottaly impervious to moisture. It has a textured grain side and a very fine sueded nap flesh side. It is really cheap as he is selling it for .69/sqft. I've used it to line holsters, as a suede backing for hybrid IWB holsters, zippered gun cases, lining and covers for presentation boxes and it makes great slingshot pouches. Only draw back is you have to like light olive color as you can't dye it.

With all due respect. You do not want to do any of these things if you expect to have a good looking functional holster. Less wet for a nice looking surface and crisp molding and drying at between 120 and 130 deg F are the way to go.

How wet you are getting it has a huge effect. Most folks get the leather too wet. With 7/8OZ it only requires about a two second dunk in a basin of warm water. Let the holster return to natural color before you start to bone in the details.

I got it from veneer woodcrafters. It is 2'X4' which is actually enough for two bags if the first section I am using ever wears out. 2500+ holsters and still going strong. Cost was right at $100 after shipping.